Call It Off
by MiguelCC51
Summary: When Brooke unknowingly causes the break-up of her second relationship since arriving in Tree Hill, Anna vents her feelings to future students via the time capsule. Peytanna with a hint of Breyton mixed into it. AU-Season 2 'Live It Out' tie-in fic.


Disclaimer : One Tree Hill is property of Mark Schwahn and the CW, while the song is the property of the wonderfully gifted Tegan & Sara.

Summery : When Brooke unknowingly causes the break-up of her second relationship since arriving in Tree Hill, Anna vents her feelings to future students via the time capsule. Peytanna with a hint of Breyton mixed into it. AU-Season 2

Author's Note : I know that I posted this before, but I wasn't really satisfied with how it turned out. So I decided to take it down and re-tool it, edit it so that it was a little more coherent. While it's still in it's original non-linear order, please take note that I changed the ending quite abit. I am very happy with it now, since the other just wasn't Breyton enough for my liking. Enjoy and tell me what you think when you're done, because reviews are love.

**Call It Off**

(Anna)

Anna had no idea what she wanted to say on the time capsule, so the latina decided that she would wing it as Lucas had suggested the day before in Social Studies. Despite this decision though, Anna was still worried that she'd freeze and just sit there staring into the camera like some brain antropied bimbo for the entire time.

_That's not at all mortifying,_ Anna thought, shaking her head with a rueful smile. _Greetings from the past, now watch me watch you for an undetermined amount of time!_

"Still thinking about what you're going to say, huh?" Lucas asked knowingly, startling the latin girl slightly with his sudden appearance beside her.

"Actually, I was thinking that maybe I'd just sit there and stare blankly into the camera for three or four minutes," Anna smiled at him, the two falling in step on their way towards History. "You know, just to freak them out."

"Well, there goes my idea," Lucas joked, sighing dramatically.

"Any idea what you're really going to say?" Anna asked, curious.

"Sort of, but it's not exactly the cheeriest of subjects, so let's just leave it at that," Lucas answered without really answering.

"Well, at least you have something to say," Anna muttered, taking the hint that the blonde boy didn't want her to pry.

"Hey, Lucas, wait up," Brooke called out from down the hall, catching both of their attention. Anna turned and immediately frowned, not at all comfortable with the pair of girls approaching them. Especially the blonde to Brooke's right.

"Oh, great, it's Brooke and her girlfriend," Anna grumbled under her breath, earning her a confused glance from Lucas.

"Oh, hey, Anna," Brooke smiled, her dimples on full display. She had apparently not heard Anna's jibe.

"Hey," Anna returned in an unenthuised tone, her eyes on the blonde beside Brooke. She noticed that Peyton seemed as uncomfortable as the latina was right now, which only served to remind Anna on how unpleasant their last encounter had been.

"Would you be willing to help me with something later, Luke?" Brooke asked, oblivious to Peyton and Anna's silent staring contest.

"Hi," Peyton greeted finally, her expression apologetic.

"So, you're talking to me now?" Anna sneered, still hurt from the events of last weekend.

"Don't be like that," Peyton said in a hurt tone, causing both Brooke and Lucas to turn in surprise.

"Whatever," Anna rolled her eyes, unable to believe that Peyton was acting like the wounded party in this situation.

"What's going on?" Brooke asked, glancing between the other two girls in confusion.

"It's nothing," the blonde girl said quickly, her eyes cast downward.

"Not anything that's your business, anyway," Anna grumbled, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Anna," Lucas said in a chiding tone, shocked at her hostile tone towards the other brunette.

_Of course, you'd jump in if Brooke's somehow involved,_ Anna snorted before turning away and stalking down the hall. She vaguely heard Lucas ask Peyton what was going on, but the blonde girl said nothing in response. The latina didn't know where she was going, but Anna felt like she just had to get away. Away from the blonde boy who was her ex-boyfriend, now simply a friend. Away from the blonde girl who she had fallen for after Lucas had dumped her, only to have her heart ripped out after Anna had given herself wholly to her. And most especially away from the bubbly brunette who was the unintentional cause of Anna's romantic problems as of late.

"Hey, Anna," a familiar voice greeted, bringing Anna out of her daze. "Are you here to do your recording for the time capsule?"

Anna looked up, surprised on where her feet had led her, her eyes meeting those of Mouth McFadden.

"So-" he began.

"Yeah, I am," Anna nodded, cutting him off.

(Peyton)

"Don't wait too long before telling her how you feel," Jake said, releasing her from their hug.

"What?" Peyton asked, confused by the sudden statement.

"Don't wait too long before telling her how you feel," he repeated, stepping back from the blonde.

"What are you talking about?" Peyton frowned, her confusion deepening.

"You'll figure it out," he sighed, smiling at her softly. He bent down to grab his bag from the floor, then headed out the door.

Peyton sat down on her bed, wondering what Jake could've meant before his departure. She shook her head, deciding to leave the deciphering for later and get to cleaning up the mess that was her bedroom. She had just finished up when a knock caught her attention, startling her a little before seeing that Anna was standing in her doorway.

"Hey," the blonde greeted with a smile.

"Hey," the brunette returned, her eyes on the refuse and plastic bag in the blonde's hand. "Did you have company?"

"Yeah, an old friend stopped by," Peyton shrugged, placing the pizza box into the garbage bag. "He just left a little while ago."

"He?" Anna asked, sounding kind of disappointed at hearing that it was a guy that had been visiting.

"It isn't anything like that with Jake and me," Peyton assured the other girl, not knowing why she wanted Anna to know that nothing was going on with Jake. "Well, at least not anymore."

"You mean, there was before?" Anna asked, sounding genuinely interested. "What happened?"

"It's kind of complicated," Peyton replied, then snorted. "No, actually, it's not really. His bitch of an ex came back to try to take custody of their kid and he ran, which pretty much ended any chance we had of pursuing a real relationship."

"That sucks," Anna said, completely sincere in her sympathy.

"Yeah, well, what can you do, huh?" Peyton shrugged in resignation, then noticed how skittish the other girl was acting. "What's up with you?"

"Can we talk?" Anna asked while biting her bottom lip, obviously anxious.

"Sure," she nodded, taking a seat on the bed. She patted the space across from her, smiling reassurredly at Anna. "Have a seat."

"Okay," a timid sounding Anna said, sitting down in the indicated spot on the right side of the blonde's bed.

"Seriously, Anna, you're going to have to say something soon because talking usually requires one of us to speak," Peyton smirked, trying to coax the girl to open up by using humor. "And while I do like the sound of my own voice, I can't really help you if you just clam up, you know."

"I don't see why you're so willing to help me," Anna mumbled, unable to meet Peyton's gaze. "Especially when you consider how crappy of a friend I've been to you as of late."

"Sorry about last time I saw you, but it was just Pile-On-Peyton Day," Peyton apologized, grabbing the other girl's hand and giving it a friendly squeeze. "I didn't mean to go off on you like I did."

"But you had every right to be pissed," Anna sighed, running the other hand through her long hair. "You needed a friend and I just wasn't there for you."

"It's okay, Anna," Peyton smiled, letting go of the latin girl's delicate looking hand.

"Anyway," Anna sighed again, turning her gaze away before continuing. "Does that we-can-talk-anytime offer still stand?"

"Uh-huh," Peyton nodded.

"Lucas kind of broke up with me," Anna confessed, taking a deep breath. "I mean, we weren't really even dating in the official sense of the word, but now there isn't even a chance."

"I'm sorry, Anna," Peyton said, sympathetic to her newest friend's plight.

"I don't know what I'm doing, Peyton," Anna said with a slight crack in her voice, her eyes cast downwards once again.

"None of us do," she replied, feeling genuinely bad for Anna.

"Do you think there's something wrong with me?" Anna asked, gazing at the blonde with pleading eyes.

"What? No!" Peyton scoffed in surprise, eyes widening momentarily at the absurdity of that question. She shook her head before adding with a smirk. "Actually, I think there might be something wrong with Lucas."

"Yeah?" Anna brightened at that, straightening up in her seat.

"Yeah, because you are great," the blonde nodded, taking the latina's hand in her own again and pulled her into a hug. "And don't let anybody tell you otherwise, okay?"

"Okay," the other girl said in a little voice.

When she pulled back, Peyton smiled at the other girl and tucked back a few loose strands of hair behind the other girl's ear. Anna stared at her for a split second before leaning forward, shocking Peyton with a soft, but passionate kiss on the lips.

"Okay, wasn't quite expecting that," Peyton breathed.

"Oh, my God," Anna whispered, panic creeping into her voice as she began to rise.

The lanky latina was halfway up from the bed before Peyton grabbed her wrist and pulled her back down, surging forward to plant her lips against those of the exquiste girl in front of her. She didn't know if it was her or Anna who was moaning into the kiss, but it didn't really matter. It was a blissful distraction from the thoughts that Jake had placed in her head earlier, sudden and unwanted thoughts of a beautiful brunette with adorable dimples. A brunette who the blonde had known since the tender age of eight. Thoughts that she'd much rather ignore since they would never, ever come true.

(Anna)

"So how exactly does this work?" Anna asked, sitting down in the plastic chair. The chair itself was placed in front of a large self-contained camera station, which was a rather intimidating looking contraption.

"Well, you hit that button when you're ready to talk," Mouth instructed, pointing to a green circluar button on a small platform attached to the camera station. "And when you're done, just hit the red one over there."

"That's it?" Anna asked, glancing to where the red button situated six inches to the green one's left.

"That's it," he confirmed with a nod.

"You going to be here while I do this, Mouth?" Anna smirked.

"Well, I guess I'll be leaving this to you then," he smiled sheepishly at her, taking the hint.

Anna just stared at the lens after Mouth closed the door, her hands resting on the platform in front of her. She tapped her fingers on the wood, thinking of what to say when the memory of what had happened with Peyton entered her mind. She took a deep breath, steadying herself before reaching forward and pressing the green button to begin her recording.

"My name is Anna Taggaro, and I hate Brooke Davis," she declared into the camera, reveling in her new found catharsis. "That bitch has taken away the only two people that have meant something to me since coming to Tree Hill, I hate her for taking away my one chance at finding happiness. And the worst thing about all this is that she doesn't even know it! First Lucas dumps me for her, even though she was still dating my brother at the time. Then, to make matters worse, Peyton goes and says her name in her sleep, just hours after the last time we made love! What does that whore have that I don't? What could she possibly offer that I couldn't?"

Anna took another deep breath before looking directly into the camera. "If you somehow end up seeing this, Brooke, I want you to know that I loathe you. I loathe you for taking Peyton away from me without even trying, without even knowing. I loathe you with every fiber of my being, you sorry bitch."

The latina girl finally broke down, sobs wracking her thin frame as she absently reached out to press the red button. Her hand stopped just short before she looked directly into the camera, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"As for you, Peyton, I hope you got everything you wanted," Anna added, her voice nearly a rasp. "I'll always love you, even though you never loved me back."

She clicked the camera off, then buried her face into her hands.

(Peyton)

"What's going on?" Peyton asked in confusion, her mind still cloudy from sleep.

"I'm leaving," Anna croaked, sounding like she'd just recently been crying.

"What's the matter?" Peyton demanded, getting up from the bed in a flash. She attempted to wrap her arms around Anna, only to have the girl she'd been secretly dating for almost the last two months push her away.

"Don't touch me," Anna spat, pulling the last of her clothes on.

"What's going on, Anna?" Peyton pleaded, suddenly afraid. "What did I do?"

"You used me," Anna accused, her eyes filling with tears. "You've been using me, all this time! I can't believe how stupid I am not to have noticed before tonight, but then again, you've alway held me at arm's legth, haven't you?"

"What?" Peyton cried, fear engulfing her in an instant. _How did she find out?_

"You talk in your sleep," Anna snapped, seeming to read the blonde's mind to answer the unspoken question.

"I do?" Peyton squeaked, even though she'd been told this by Nathan on several occasions. _Oh, God, all those times I slept with him when we were together! What if he knows, too? Oh, God, is that how Jake found out?_

"It all makes so much sense now," Anna ranted, running her fingers through her long silken hair. Silken hair that Peyton loved to run her own fingers through whenever they made love. She gazed into deep brown eyes that always reminded the blonde of chocolate for some reason. Peyton's mouth suddenly felt like it was filled with cotton, as the fear of losing this fantastic girl began to overwhelm her.

"What does?" Peyton asked, swallowing hard against the nausea rising from her gut into her throat.

"Why you never let me stay the night," Anna sighed, her anger seemingly sapped, replaced by sad resignation. "Why you always left my house after the few times we had sex at my place, even after I assured you time and again that Felix or my parents would never catch us. Why you always look so sad whenever Brooke's in the same vicinity as us."

"Anna," the blonde begged, feeling tears streak down her cheeks. "Don't go."

"Why should I stay?" Anna asked with a sniffle.

"Because I love you," Peyton cried, then shrunk back as the hot anger returned to those dark chocolate eyes.

"Don't say that," the lithe girl growled through gritted teeth. "Don't you dare say that to me, Peyton! Not after calling me Brooke in your sleep!"

Peyton stood stock still, unable to deny it. She could tell by the hurt in Anna's eyes that it was true, that what she'd said in her sleep was the undeniable truth and she would have to live with the knowledge. The knowledge that she had broken this beautiful girl's heart into a million little shards.

"Good-bye, Peyton," Anna croaked before walking out the door, leaving the blonde alone to drown in her guilt.

"Oh, God," Peyton lamented, feeling like she was about to faint. "What have I done?"

(Anna)

Anna fell back against the brick wall, feeling it bite painfully into her spine as she slumped to the concrete walkway. She placed her head onto crossed arms, which rested against her knees in a seated position. She was emotionally exhausted from her session with the time capsule, feeling completely spent from letting out all of her anger. Anger that was fueled by pure unadulterated hurt.

"You look like hell," a familiar voice stated from her right.

"And you are the last person I want to talk to right now," Anna stated in a tired tone.

"We need to talk, Anna," Peyton replied, sitting down next to her.

"About what?"

"About us!"

"What's there left to talk about?" Anna snorted, lifting her head to glance over at the blonde. "There isn't an 'us' anymore, Peyton. There's just me over here, and you over there. That's it."

"I screwed everything up, didn't I?" Peyton sniffled, more of a statement than a question.

"We both did, I think," Anna conceited, then sighed before continuing. "I look back now and it's so obvious. I don't know how I could've missed it. You wear your heart on your sleeve when it comes to her, you know that?"

"Well, I do now," she admitted, sounding embarrassed.

They sat quietly for a second before Anna broke the silence.

"I'm going to come out to my parents tonight," she declared, looking up at the clear blue sky.

"I wish I could be there to support you," the blonde stated with sincerity. "But after what I've done, I think I lost that right."

"Yeah," Anna sighed, nodding before adding. "I appreciate the sentiment though."

"I'm sorry that I hurt you," Peyton said, blinking quickly like she was trying to hold back tears. "I never meant to."

"I know you didn't," Anna said, rising to her feet, brushing the dust off the back of her jeans in the process. "I'm gonna go now."

"Can I give you a ride home?" Peyton asked in an almost begging tone.

Anna was about to decline the offer until her brown eyes met Peyton's green ones, and everything they had said and done in the last two months came rushing back. From that first night in Peyton's bedroom to the time they confronted Felix about spray painting 'Dyke' on Peyton's locker, and everything in between and afterward up to now. It was enough to make Anna's knees buckle out from under her, which caused the blonde to instinctively jump forward to catch her from hitting the pavement. When their eyes connected again, she heard Peyton's breath hitch much like her own had. They stood there staring into each other's eyes for ten seconds (or minutes, Anna couldn't tell) before the latina regained her equalibrium and stood up on her own two feet once again.

"We had a good run, didn't we?" Anna asked, stepping back to send a sad smile towards her now ex-girlfriend.

"Yeah, we did," Peyton said, returning the sad smile.

Anna took a step forward and pressed her lips lightly against Peyton's, then pulled away with an unsteady breath.

"Good-bye, Peyton," Anna said before walking away, surprised that her legs weren't giving way.

"Good-bye, Anna," she heard the blonde say from behind her, her voice strained.

(Peyton)

The next day Peyton stepped into the hallway, only to overhear Bevin gossip with Teresa about how Anna had tranferred out. Numbly, the blonde made her way towards her first class, not really listening to what was said. She went through most of the day like this until reaching the artroom, where the time capsule was kept and told Mouth that she wanted to record her portion. She sat down in front of the time capsule with a heavy heart, wondering what to say before pressing the button that would begin the recording.

"Hello, I'm Peyton Sawyer, and I'm a junior here at Tree Hill High, much like many of you watching this right now," she greeted, licking her lips while trying to figure out what to say next. The blonde ran her hand through her hair, taking a deep breath before deciding to continue. "It has been recently revealed to me that I am a very selfish person. Don't get me wrong, I don't mean to be this way or hurt people with my actions. I just do, okay?"

She turned her gaze away from the camera momentarily, then returned it after coming to a decision. "Shortly after I turned eight years old, I made a friend. She was the first friend I really made, because back then, I was painfully shy. Hard to believe, I know. She's my best friend now, even though I don't deserve her. After all the crap I've pulled on her, all the lies and secrets, she's still my best friend. Though most of the time I wish we were more..."

Peyton stopped, then sighed. She gathered her thoughts once more before going on. "Remember how I said that I'm a selfish person? Wanna know how I figured that out? Well, that would be because of two people. These two people that I came to love, but drove away because I couldn't give myself completely to them. And if they're somehow watching this, then I hope you guys know how sorry I am for hurting you. I'm sorry for being such a blind idiot."

She blinked into the camera before nodding. "And I also want to say thank you. Thank you for opening my eyes. Even if things don't turn out the way I'd like them to with Brooke, I still want to say thank you. I hope if and when I see this in 2055, that I'm a better person and not the selflish little girl I am now. I want to think that I've grown at least a little bit between here and there, you know what I mean?"

Not knowing what else to say, Peyton reached forward to press the button before stopping. "Oh, and if you're watching this Brooke," she smiled into the lens. "And if I somehow haven't gotten the courage to tell this to you by then, which would be really pathetic on my part, I just want you to know that I love you. With all my heart."

The blonde gave the camera a little wave with her free hand before hitting the stop button, effectively ending the recording.

**The End.**

**If you happened to have read this after reading chapter 9 of 'Live It Out', then I guess you've figured out that they're tied together, huh?**

**Anyhow, I hope you enjoyed the fic and please feel free to review when you're finished reading.**

**Thanks and see you guys around!**


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